This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is, inter alia, recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Many industrially relevant catalytic reactions are performed under hydrothermal conditions. For instance, catalytic reactions may be carried out at elevated temperatures (e.g., 200° C.) and pressures (e.g., 400 psi) in the presence of water or steam. Under these extreme conditions, conventional high surface area catalytic support structures such as various mesoporous materials, including mesoporous silica materials MCM-41 and SBA-15, become severely degraded. As such, the surface area of such catalytic supports can drop by a factor of 10, which results in severely diminished catalytic activity and can result in the collapse of the catalytic support structure, loss or dissolution of the catalytically active material, and failure of the catalyst. In less extreme situations, catalytic activity may nonetheless decrease, impacting reaction yield, which may require frequent replacement and maintenance of the catalysts.
Because many catalytic reactions for bio-processing, for example, rely on mesoporous catalytic material supports, there is a need to develop a commercially viable catalyst that is structurally robust and demonstrates long-term catalytic performance under hydrothermal conditions and other reaction environments that are hostile to catalyst support structures.